Daihatsu says no decision yet on which auto market to enter next

KITAKYUSHU: Japanese mini-vehicle maker Daihatsu Motor Co on Wednesday said that it planned to expand its presence in automobile markets in emerging countries, although it had yet to decide which market to enter next.

"We are in Indonesia and Malaysia at the moment, but we haven't made a decision on which country we'd like to enter next," President Masanori Mitsui told reporters during a visit to one of the company's plants in southern Japan.

"This is something we will decide with Toyota ... given our expertise, it will likely be an emerging market."

Toyota Motor Corp, the world's largest automaker, in January announced it would buy out the shares in Daihatsu it didn't already own in a deal worth about $3 billion which is aimed to strengthen its push into compact cars for emerging markets.